The man pushing for Salinas, Alisal recall elections

On a piece of property he bought in the Alisal almost 20 years ago, Juan Sandoval has nearly completed installing three mobile homes.

He's done it little by little on his own, he said, on weekends and evenings after his work day in the maintenance department at the Alisal Union School District.

The work has kept him busy for the last few years, but after hearing his co-workers and neighbors complain endlessly about the political situation in East Salinas, he decided to take action.

"I was minding my own business, but all that stuff was hitting close to home," Sandoval said.

First, he took out papers to recall Salinas Councilman José Castañeda. Although his first two efforts fizzled, he just served the councilman with papers for the third time on Saturday.

This time it'll be the charm, he said.

"I'm finally prepared," the 38-year-old said.

Sandoval also served recall papers to Alisal Union School District trustee Meredith Ibarra, a board member who sided with Castañeda when he sat on the school board.

Ibarra "constantly refers back to the old regime," Sandoval said. "She still has the same attitude, the same anger. If that's the path being paved for my children, I'm afraid to walk that path. That's a path of destruction."

Born and raised in Salinas, Sandoval attended local schools. He graduated from Alisal High in 1993, and attended Heald College. He took a job as computer technician at an elementary school in the Alisal Union School District after graduation in 1995, and he worked there for six years.

But he said the indoor work left him out of shape and he enjoys the outdoors. So he took a job in the maintenance department, where he's been ever since. One of his four children attends school in the district, he said, as do nieces and nephews.

As a strong union supporter, he was in constant touch with his co-workers, and grew wary of the increased chatter about Castañeda, who until recently was on the school board. When the councilman refused to give up his seat after he was elected to the City Council, Sandoval said it was time for action.

"Knowing the type of mentality he has, but with a city-wide reach ... we needed to eliminate that right away," he said. "He's affected many lives and it's affecting our children. They're the innocent victims. It's enough."

Long a lighting rod of controversy, Castañeda upset many when he refused to give up his Alisal seat. While remaining on the school board, he supported measures many in the community did not agree with, and upset district union members as well.

Ibarra, herself elected to the board by recalling another board member, remains a strong supporter of Castañeda and his vision. Since the November election she has fallen on the losing side of the board majority. One meeting had to be delayed after she would not stop interrupting the proceedings.

She could not be reached for comment.

Castañeda did not return an email message seeking comment. But after learning Sandoval would attempt for a third time to recall him, he said earlier in the month that he remains focused on the main issues that plague the city such as reducing gang violence.

"The average voter should know that much of the action taken against me derives from the old status quo Latino guard of political factions within Salinas," Castañeda wrote in a statement.

Sandoval responded by saying he's never been political, so he doesn't know which old guard Castañeda is talking about.

"The only people I represent are people in this area that have issues," Sandoval said. "We have other problems like the crime, pot holes, and (Castañeda) is more concerned with separating the Alisal from Salinas."

Castañeda also mentions the myriad issues Salinas is facing, and invites Sandoval to join his cause.

"We could really use his energy and expertise to help us reduce youth gang violence and with the Juvenile Hall Project. The Alisal population is paying outrageous ALCO water bills for water that is eroding homeowners' and renters' pipes as well as water faucets. Maybe Mr. Sandoval can help campaign for better services within our East Salinas Community. I would be happy to work with Mr. Sandoval in these efforts," Castañeda wrote in the statement.

But Sandoval said he does not like how the councilman is doing things.

"I don't want to help him. I want to help the community," he said. "They just want to butt heads with the Anglos, and I want to work with everyone."

Monterey County Acting Registrar of Voters Claudio Valenzuela said his office has verified the signatures submitted and now Ibarra has until Friday to respond to the petition, but that the process can move forward without her response. If all the bureaucratic hurdles are cleared, Sandoval will have to collect about 500 signatures within the next three months to put Ibarra's recall to the Alisal voters.

He will need about 1,500 valid signatures to proceed with a recall against Castañeda. For his second effort, he collected 1,740 but only 1,326 were valid.

Sandoval said he's learned from his past mistakes. The last time he was gathering signatures there was an election going on so he received no help. This time, it's going to be different he said.

"There's people behind me now," he said. "They want to do this. It's a community effort."